Elsevier Announces First Large-Scale Analysis of Suicide Motivation Across Multiple Ages in the Same Time Period

Unique resource benefiting practitioners and researchers in clinical psychology is one of five new psychology books published by Elsevier

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Cambridge, MA, February 13, 2017

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced the publication of Explaining Suicide: Patterns, Motivations, and What Notes Reveal by Cheryl Meyer, Taronish Irani, Katherine Hermes and Betty Yung. It is the first large-scale analysis of suicide motivation across multiple ages in the same time period, made possible via a unique dataset of all suicide notes collected by the coroner’s office in southwestern Ohio from 2000 through 2009. At the same time, Elsevier announced publication of four additional psychology books.

Based on an analysis of the Ohio dataset and those from other European and Oceanic studies, Explaining Suicide identifies top motivations for suicide, how these differ between note leavers and non-note leavers, and how that information relates to better suicide prevention. The book reveals the extent to which suicide is motivated by interpersonal violence, substance abuse, physical pain, grief, feelings of failure and mental illness. It also discusses other risk factors, what differentiates suicide attempters from suicide completers, and what might serve as protective factors toward resilience.

Learn more about The Complexity of Suicide Motivation in this sample chapter.

Cheryl Meyer, a professor at Ohio’s Wright State University School of Professional Psychology, has a unique combination of degrees including a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, a Ph.D. in Social Psychology and a law degree. Her research has an interdisciplinary focus incorporating legal, educational, psychological and sociological perspectives. Dr. Meyer’s research interests focus on forensic psychology, specifically intrafamilial violence, and program evaluation.

Taronish Irani, a licensed clinical psychologist working at The Counseling Center at SUNY Buffalo State College, received her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from University of Mumbai, India and a Psy.D. degree in Clinical Psychology from Wright State University. Some of her clinical and research areas include trauma informed care, diversity issues, consultation, psychology education and training, violence and suicide prevention, forensic psychology, and international psychology.

Katherine Hermes is chair of the History Department at Central Connecticut State University, where she has taught since 1997. She was co-coordinator of the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at CCSU from 2006-2008. Dr. Hermes received her law degree from Duke University School of Law and her Ph.D. in History from Yale University. Her fields of specialty are Early American history, the Atlantic World, legal history and Native American history.

Betty Yung led this project but died before it was completed. She served as officer of grants, research, evaluation and accreditation for five years at Wright State University, and in 1988, joined the School of Professional Psychology as a grants and proposals writer. Dr. Yung’s areas of specialty included violence prevention and health disparities for minority populations. She also was a grant reviewer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on family violence initiatives.

In order to meet content needs in psychology, Elsevier uses proprietary tools to identify the gaps in coverage of the topics. Editorial teams strategically fill those gaps with content written by key influencers in the field, giving students, faculty and researchers the content they need to answer challenging questions and improve outcomes. These new books, which will educate the next generation of psychologists, and provide critical foundational content for information professionals, are key examples of how Elsevier is enabling science to drive innovation.

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Note for editorsE-book review copies of the new books are available to credentialed journalists upon request. Contact Jelena Baras at sciencereviewcopies@elsevier.com.

About ElsevierElsevier is a global information analytics business that helps institutions and professionals advance healthcare, open science and improve performance for the benefit of humanity. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support and professional education, including ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, more than 38,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professionals and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com